Automobile parking system



April 16, 1963 c. A. SIMMONS, SR 3,085,701

AUTOMOBILE PARKING SYSTEM Filed Feb. 5, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. CHARLES A. SIMMOMSSP- ,MZZFW A T TOQNE Y5.

April 1963 c. A. SIMMONS, SR

AUTOMOBILE PARKING SYSTEM Filed Feb. 5, 1962 April 1963 c. A. SIMMONS, sR 3,085,701

AUTOMOBILE PARKING SYSTEM Filed Feb. 5, 1962 3 SheetsSheet 3 INVENTOR. CHA PI. 55 A 5/MMON5,$R

A T TOQNE Y5.

Patented Apr. 16, 1963 3,035,701 AUTOMOBILE PARKING SYSTEM Charles A. Simmons, Sn, Albany, N.Y., assignor to Consolidated Devices 8: Development, Inn, Albany, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Feb. 5, 1962, Ser. No. 171,090 Claims. ((31. 214-161) The present invention relates to a system and con struction for parking automobiles.

The preference for traveling and shopping by private automobile has created a serious problem in parking automobiles in the downtown areas of cities. These cities must attract shoppers in private cars or suffer a decay in business and become a tax burden. Valuable time is now lost by businessmen and by shoppers who must wait to park their cars or who must drive around trying to find a parking lot.

One proposed solution is publicly financed municipal parking garages utilizing ramps so that a person may park and lock his own car. Such garages have a low density of parking and are expensive to build.

Another proposed solution is the wider use of parking garages using elevators. Such garages are comparatively unpopular because the parked car cannot be locked by the driver and drivers must often wait for their cars during rush periods while the cars are being fetched.

It is an objective of the present invention to provide a construction for parking cars which has a low capital cost per car space, provides rapid parking and exiting and permits the driver to park and lock his own car.

In accordance with the present invention, a double back-to-back fork lift apparatus, each of whose two fork lifts can raise and hold a car, is mounted on a large elevator in a car parking garage. Cars are then driven under the upheld cars so that four cars are positioned on the elevator. The four cars are then lifted by the elevator simultaneously. Preferably, a plurality of similar back-to-b-ack fork lift devices are used on each floor of the garage, enabling the garage building to have oneha-lf the usual number of floors.

Other features of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front plan view of the elevator cage of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the elevator cage in its shaftway;

FIG. 3 is a perspective vie-w of a preferred wheel lock used with the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a side plan layout view of a garage utilizing the present invention.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, a standard freight elevator cage 1 having floor 7, side beams 8, roof 9 and top support assembly is mounted within the elevator shaftway formed by upright building beams 2. The elevator preferably travels at a sufiicient vertical speed so that it has a rate of 10 seconds per floor. A back-to-back automobile lifting apparatus 3, similar to that disclosed in my US. Patent 2,857,985, is mounted on the elevator floor 7.

The lifting apparatus consists of a control station 4, a left fork lift 5, a right fork lift 6, and power means for each of the lifts. The control station 4 is provided with a chair for the operator and a control panel 12. The fork lifts 5 and 6 are mounted on a vertical column and each includes a car holding platform which moves vertically independently of the other platform. The power means includes, preferably, an electrically driven hydraulic fluid pump. The pump is connected to two cylinders each of which contains a piston connected to a platform. The movement of fluid into the cylinders is controlled by left and right control members which are electric solenoids whose plungers are attached to fluid valves. The control solenoids are operated by manual electrical switches mounted on the control panel 12. Four cars a, b, c and d are positioned so as to be lifted simultaneously on elevator 1.

The elevator cage (see FIG. 2) is counterbalanced by weights 11 which are at the opposite end of elevator cables 15. The cage is moved vertically by electric motor 13 and gear system 14. The vertical position of the elevator cage is controlled by electrical switches mounted on control panel 12. To lower the cage, the operator at position 4 pushes a switch so that motor 13 turns gear system 14. Elevator cage 15 is progressed so that the weights 11 rise and cage support assembly 10, with its attached cage 1, is lowered.

The functions performed by the operator may be accomplished by automatic control devices. The vertical position of the elevator cage may be controlled from a central control panel in the garage under the supervision of monitoring television pick-up cameras mounted on the elevator cages. The control solenoids for the lifting apparatus may be operated by weight actuated switches which operate when a cars weight is on a platform and the cars tires are touching at their final position.

A garage 19 for use with the elevator system is shown in FIG. 4 in which a plurality of automobile lifting apparatus 3 are positioned on each floor, the elevators not being shown in this figure. It is presently less expensive to install such fork lifting apparatus on each floor than it would be to build additional floors which could park the same number of cars the lifts can handle. The first floor 20 of the garage 19 is a blacktop surface having a plurality of lifting apparatus each mounted on its own concrete base. The four floors 21, 22, 23 and 24 are of the pan type of concrete construction and are stacked above the first floor. Using this type of construction for the five-floor building and lifting apparatus on all floors, the total initial capital cost per car space is about onehalf that of a ten-floor garage parking the same number of cars, using standard construction and not using lifting apparatus on each floor. Preferably two elevators, each having lifting apparatus in their cages, are provided in each garage 19 so that one will operate even if one fails.

In order to accommodate both regular and compact cars, two sizes of lifting apparatus are utilized on the garage floors 2024. The smaller lifting apparatus used for compact cars is about 15 inches narrower and 4 inches shorter than the regular apparatus, in order to conserve parking spaces.

The parking system is designed for the maximum safety so that drivers can park their own cars. Each platform (see FIG. 3) has a wheel lock 16 which includes two half round cylinders 17 and 18 which are positioned in front and back, respectively, of each wheel. The car can be removed from this lock only by using the cars engine and drive system. As another safety measure, the floor leading into the elevator is provided with recesses to guide the car wheels.

In operation, a driver drives onto the ground floor of the parking garage 19. He is guided by the recesses in the garage floor into the outside of the elevator shaftway. When the elevator has descended to the ground floor, the elevator door opened and the elevator cage ready for its ascent, the driver drives onto the left or right platform. The elevator operator at the control station 4 pushes a switch on control panel 12 to lift the left platform by means of its hydraulic piston. The driver remains in the car during this operation. :In a similar manner, a car is lifted on the other platform and cars are positioned by their drivers beneath both the left and the right platforms. The elevator operator then controls the vertical ascent of the elevator cage to the floor on which it is desired to park the cars. He stops the elevator at that floor and opens the door. The driver of the cars on the elevator fioor drive out to empty parking spaces on the floor. The elevator operator lowers the left and right car holding platforms so that the platforms are at ground level. The drivers of the cars which were raised on the platforms drive the cars off the elevator and into empty parking spaces on the floors.

When the garage of the type of FIG. 4 is utilized, the driver places his car either on a platform of a lifting apparatus or underneath a raised car. Those cars which are underneath the raised cars must either be leftunlocked or left with their brakes released so that the raised cars can be removed.

In practice, it has been found that an elevator can be completely loaded with four cars in 45 seconds. A small self-service elevator is provided in the garage to enable the drivers to go to the ground floor and to exit from the garage building. The driver of the car receives a ticket indicating the location of his car, so that he may readily return to the car when he desires to take it from the garage.

In exiting, the driver follows the reverse process by taking the self-service elevator to the floor on which his car is parked, driving his car to the elevator, putting his car on the automobile elevator, and driving away when the elevator cage arrives at the ground floor.

The collection of payment is made by the operator of the elevator or, in order to speed up the process during rush hours, by attendants at the floors being serviced.

Modifications may be made in the above described device within the scope of the invention. For example, the elevator may be vertically powered by a hydraulic ram. As another modification, some or all of the fioors of the garage may be below street level.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for use in an automobile parking garage including support members forming an elevator shaftway, an elevator cage operable in the shaftway, means to vertically lift and lower the cage in the shaftway, means to control the vertical position of the cage, and an automobile lifting mechanism mounted on the cage, the lifting mechanism including means to raise an automobile by upward pressure on its undercarriage the height of an automobile and means to control the raising means, whereby in sequence a first automobile is driven onto the elevator, the first automobile is raised by the lifting mechanism, a second automobile is driven onto the elevator beneath the first automobile and the cage is moved vertically.

2. An automobile parking garage including a plurality of parking floors, a plurality of support members forming an elevator shaftway, an elevator cage operable in the shaftway, power means to vertically raise and lower the cage and means to control the vertical position of the cage, the improvement comprising a vertical column mounted on the fioor of the cage, two car-holding platforms raisable and lowerable vertically to up and down positions mounted on the column, power-operated means to raise and lower each platform independently of the other platform and platform control means to control the power-operated means.

3. A garage as in claim 2 wherein the platform control means are actuated by weight control switches on the platforms.

4. A garage as in claim 2 wherein the power-operated means to raise and lower the platforms each includes a hydraulic ram and the platform controls means each includes a hydraulic valve.

5. A vertical moving elevator cage for use in an automobile parking garage having a plurality of parking floors, the elevator cage including a cage tloor, means to control the vertical position of the cage, a vertical column mounted on the floor, two car-holding platforms raisable and lowerable vertically to up and down positions mounted on the column, power-operated means positioned in the cage to raise and lower each platform independently of the other platform, platform control means to control the power-operated means, and an instrument panel mounted adjacent the column on which are mounted the means to control the vertical position of the cage and the platform control means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. APPARATUS FOR USE IN AN AUTOMOBILE PARKING GARAGE INCLUDING SUPPORT MEMBERS FORMING AN ELEVATOR SHAFTWAY, AN ELEVATOR CAGE OPERABLE IN THE SHAFTWAY, MEANS TO VERTICALLY LIFT AND LOWER THE CAGE IN THE SHAFTWAY, MEANS TO CONTROL THE VERTICAL POSITION OF THE CAGE, AND AN AUTOMOBILE LIFTING MECHANISM MOUNTED ON THE CAGE, THE LIFTING MECHANISM INCLUDING MEANS TO RAISE AN AUTOMOBILE BY UPWARD PRESSURE ON ITS UNDERCARRIAGE THE HEIGHT OF AN AUTOMOBILE AND MEANS TO CONTROL THE RAISING MEANS, WHEREBY IN SEQUENCE A FIRST AUTOMOBILE IS DRIVEN ONTO THE ELEVATOR, THE FIRST AUTOMOBILE IS RAISED BY THE LIFTING MECHANISM, A SECOND AUTOMOBILE IS DRIVEN ONTO THE ELEVATOR BENEATH THE FIRST AUTOMOBILE AND THE CAGE IS MOVED VERTICALLY. 